Here is an interesting quote from a 2004 article:
" But the
U.S. government's decision to abandon research in 2001 could prevent the alternative energy source from ever seeing the light of day.
Solar panels on Earth are inherently limited in their ability to collect energy by two things -- the lack of direct sun at night and atmospheric interference from weather.
NASA's now-abandoned Space Solar Power program would avoid these terrestrial impediments by launching satellites that would collect solar radiation and beam the energy to Earth. These satellite systems could each provide gigawatts of electricity, enough power for tens of thousands of homes.
Interest in solar space power peaked in 2000, when NASA officials testified before the House Committee on Science that by 2006 test satellites could be wirelessly transmitting energy from space. After three years of studying the challenges and a favorable report from the National Research Council, in 2001 NASA requested and received new funding for the space solar power program. But later that year, NASA canceled the program (the website was last updated in August 2001) and withdrew the funding.When asked about the decision to pull the plug on the program, former NASA Director Dan Goldin,
who resigned his post in November 2001, said in an e-mail that he does not comment on NASA policy issues.
"It was a done deal, the money was there," said Henry Brandhorst, director of space research at Auburn University. Brandhorst said that NASA decided to use the money for the space shuttle and International Space Station programs instead. "It was a policy change."
more at link
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/06/63913